Annihilate (Hive Trilogy #3)(57)
Holy shit. Did that mean I’d been right? Vampires were hiding under the city everywhere, and the humans had no idea.
Kyle quickly darted over to the elevators and hit the button. With a ding the doors slid across. “Much faster this way,” he said.
None of us wasted another second, filling the metal box. Sam reached out and hit the button for one of the sublevels. This Hive was filled with secrets. Here’s hoping this doorway into the tunnels was revealed easier than many of the others.
When the doors slid silently across, Ryder and Markus stepped out first, guns raised. I recognized this space as soon as I walked from the elevator. The smooth rock walls with the fire lanterns up high, their flickering lights making everything look Medieval. This was the level I’d come to back when I was in the culling, with the nasty redhead vampire. She’d brought me here to see my mom, Lucas’ gift to me.
Just like that time, we went straight to the large, ornate double doors, the one with the engraved emblem, unrecognizable words, and a secret pattern thing to get inside.
Carter was all business, slamming his huge hands down on the emblem and getting it open. It was useful having an ancient, all knowing vampire on our team. Inside looked the same still: huge table, fireplace which was not lit this time, and ornate wall adornments.
“The entrance is here somewhere?” Sam said. “Do you know where, Carter?”
Clearly I wasn’t the only one who’d noticed how at home my father seemed here. He’d obviously spent much time in Portland over the years. Had a man on the inside or some shit.
My father took his time observing the room, and if I wasn’t mistaken he looked to be counting stones along the far side of the circular space. Eventually he strode over and ran his fingers lightly across the wall.
“He needs to hurry up,” Jared said, Australian accent strong. “It’s been dark for at least ten minutes now. The humans are going to be sitting ducks.”
Jayden snorted. “Dude, I’m so not telling that hot-ass warrior to hurry up. He’ll crucify you, and ain’t no one gonna stop him.”
“Dude!” I mimicked him. “That’s my dad you’re talking about. Please, no more hot-ass stuff.”
Jayden winked at me and Oliver swung around to narrow his eyes at him. I was getting the vibe that they were in a silent lover’s tiff right now. Too much stress could kill the strongest of relationships. But I knew they were solid. I was already planning what to wear as Jayden’s best man. A wedding was something to look forward to. Something to fight for. A happy ending for all of us.
Further conversation was cut off by the sound of stone moving on stone, a weird grating screech. Carter lifted the tapestry closest to him, and sure enough, there was an open doorway leading to some narrow stone stairs.
For the record, I hated being underground like this. And taking those creepy stairs which led into old haunted tunnels was also not my idea of an entertaining day. This shit was fun when you were twelve years old and with your mom. Not so much as an adult with a fear of being crushed in a tunnel collapse. Damn vampires. Would have been much better if they were friendly, got along with all the kids in the playground. But no, they had to be nasty little assholes who like to kill and maim.
It was dark down here. The boys flicked on their Maglites, which gave us just enough light to see a few feet ahead. As we descended, a damp scent and heavy feeling filtered through the tunnel. The stairs ended in a narrow walkway, the sound of water all around us.
“This area is part of the underground water treatment.” Markus pointed across to the far wall with his light so we could all see the huge pipe running there.
“Stay close,” Sam added. “And watch your step. There are lots of grates and divots in the ground.”
The water grew louder as we marched along. I knew Sam was leading us according to his underground schematics. Here’s hoping the vampires had not adjusted them too much. We could be lost under here for weeks.
Nothing much happened for the next few minutes of fast walk-running, hauling ass knowing time was against us and that we were a few miles from where the main tunnels in northwest Portland were, but just as the sound of water died off, something else came into view. There was illumination ahead, and the space seemed to be quite large. There was no hesitation. We dashed toward it, preparing to fight.
“Holy vampire babies in hell,” Jayden shouted as we skidded to a halt on the edge of the lit-up room. His dark eyes flashed across to me. “It’s like we stumbled into a scene from the exorcist.”
He wasn’t kidding. The tunnels had opened up into a large, caged space. Twenty feet wide, it was like a small apartment, and not what you would expect for underground living, with low ceilings and lots of artificial light. It was still stone, and damp, but some attempt at home comforts had been made. There were hospital beds, cushions, medical equipment, and a small kitchen area installed, which was just great, because the hundreds of humans down here would have needed something to keep themselves alive.
Faces turned in our direction. Well, all the ones who weren’t dead, because quite clearly there were plenty who hadn’t made it through the vampire’s little experiments.
“What are you doing here?” a female said, stepping forward. She wore a simple white shift dress, bare feet, hair all matted. “Ash aren’t allowed in our breeding den.”
I’m sorry … their what? Jayden and I exchanged another wide-eyed look. Not only had the vampires clearly tried to change a bunch of humans to get their numbers up, but they were also illegally breeding with humans? Why the heck? They hated ash? Why would they want more? Nausea made my stomach roll as I imagined the “breeding” down here.